Friday, June 27, 2014

In an email report to his constituents released late Friday, 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly announced he would not support River North developer Albert Friedman's plans to construct two separate Hyatt hotels in a single 45-story tower at 740 North Rush abutting and abridging the vintage building that's the long-time home to Giordano's Pizza:

I received a tremendous amount of constituent feedback regarding the proposal and the resounding overall sentiment was serious concern regarding the overall density of the proposal and the major traffic impacts and loading challenges associated with it.

After spending the past two months reviewing the proposal and associated traffic analyses to determine whether changes could properly address these challenges - I have concluded that the proposed 620 hotel keys, split across separate hotel flags, is simply far too ambitious for this location already surrounded by failing intersections (from a traffic engineering perspective) and high-density buildings.

click images for larger view

I did not reach this conclusion quickly. In fact, I met with the development team on several occasions to explore potential changes or other development options to help make the proposal a better fit for this location. Unfortunately, at the end of that process, it became clear that this proposal simply could not proceed.

As a result, the proposed 620 key hotel development for 740 North Rush Street will not be moving forward. I have encouraged the property owners to carefully consider the limitations posed by the infrastructure around their site and existing traffic conditions, as they contemplate future development concepts.

Reilly did not indicate to what level the project would have to be cut back or reconfigured to meet his approval. Take a last look at the original glassy skyscraper here . . .

7 comments:

The 42nd Alderman's above statement translated:"I received a tremendous amount of constituent feedback. "TRANSLATION: He received a tremendous amount of feedback from the residents of the nearby highrises that would have their views blocked bythe proposed hotel.Alderman of the 42nd ward:"After spending the past two months reviewing the proposal. "TRANSLATION:This one was dead on arrival. NIMBYsWin again. He spent five minutes onon this proposal. Politicians barely work.Alderman of the 42nd ward:"Unfortunately, at the end of that process it became clear that this proposal simply could not proceed."TRANSLATION:Brendan only approves buildings that are no higher than a Walgreen's.I live in the area and I have not been happy with the Alderman for years.isn't time to elect someone who is pro development. Chicago can't afford to say no to tax revenue.

I worked in 740 N. Rush for many years when the Crain's magazines were based there. It is a busy intersection, much busier now since the Peninsula was built across the street. It's interesting that the drawings portray Superior Street free of cars and traffic. If this hotel tower were actually built, that would never be the case. The block would be so clogged with cars and delivery vehicles that sensible people would make a wide detour to avoid it. I don't think it's "anti-development", as the anonymous commenter alleges, to point out that the street infrastructure and already overloaded traffic patterns could easily support a building of such height and density.-- Duncan Moore

I was at the community meeting - the City loses the $27,000,000 per year (YES, TWENTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR) in tax income this hotel would have contributed to the city budget shortfall. Guess what fellow residents - that mean property tax increases.

About Me

. . . writings on architecture have appeared in the Chicago Reader, Metropolis Magazine, the Harvard Design Magazine, and the backs of discarded gum wrappers.
We reserve the right to delete posts that we judge spamatory, defamatory or unnecessarily obscene. If you prefer to berate me personally, email me here.